Die Cast Lighted 1/350th TOS Enterprise (TOMY crowd funded)

enterprise0216 said:
Alot of great points mentioned here. Nothing gets underscored as far as folks being disappointed, or simply happy they got their Enterprise. Agreed many may try to unload their Enterprise on Ebay and will most likely get bought by others. However as one member pointed out a skilled set of hands and vision can make this even better than what it already is. Fill in the screw holes fill in the seams etc etc. All hard work and takes time, but the results will be EPIC! In the grand scheme of things it's your Enterprise do with it what you will. Other than the seams here and there / screw hole covers. You have something not many people had to opportunity to buy. Also consider no one has 10 or 20k laying around to buy a professionally made piece of history. Unless you have very deep pockets who knows. On other side of the coin sooner, or later some fellow members with serious skillset may venture into creating a new base for the ship and saucer sections. Or think of some new affordable additions to add more zest to this Enterprise. Time will tell obviously :) The Aussys!! rock for sharing info and pictures MUCH APPRECIATED!!
Click to expand...

Many people here possibly have the option of using their own skills to make something truly spectacular, but for the rest of us, we need to rely on a ready-made kit and unfortunately the market for high quality pieces has never quite been wallet friendly.

From qMX pieces which over a decade ago, ranged from $4,000 to $10,000 depending on ship. To the current Galaxy class from Factory Entertainment which has been listed for $17,000! And keep in mind that for that price, the length for that piece is 29" versus the 34" for this Tomy original Enterprise! Though of course the Galaxy class is still 6" wider.

So, for $600 I don't think it's half bad. Actually, it's still pretty impressive imo.


Though they really should have flipped the support strut for the saucer section to the other side.
 
Well I ordered it so I am just waiting for it to arrive like many others. If anyone decides to tackle, or to a redesign of the base/s I am open to that as another option. If it ever happens i may place it next to the Razor Crest...LOL
 
Miles Kendig said:
I don't think a newly designed base will ever be able to get around having to support the saucer independently in some way.
It's a heavy metal piece with a relatively slender connection point at the outer rim.

There were pics early on of the saucer sagging that I pointed out (don't know if it was here) and was reassured by everyone that "they know what they're doing, They know when they engineer it to account for that."

They found the solution alright, though it's not a very attractive one to me.
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As I said before, I think they never should have designed it to be separated. So, there wouldn't have been the need for the bigger part of the support strut for the saucer section.

But I agree, it definitely needs a support rod directly underneath the saucer. Heck, that $17,000 Enterprise D from Factory Entertainment has a much bigger pole supporting its saucer section, and I'm not sure if that piece is going to be as heavy as this one.
 
I'll admit the support struts aren't very visually appealing. Especially with all the empty space in its design.

They definitely would've looked better as a solid brick of acrylic. Does anyone have any idea why they would choose otherwise?
 
from a fb post:
"Hi folks, I just called Tomy regarding their diecast Enterprise to see if I can cancel my order for a full refund and avoid having to ship the item back. I was informed they've not shipped these out to buyers yet, even though it appears some have. There should be something on their website in the next day or so about returns. The lady informed me one could just email them with your order number and informing them that you do not want them to ship it. This has to be done by October 5th though. I said I was most disappointed in the fact that you advertise you were going to cover up screw holes and seams and you did not follow through with that. She appeared dismissive regarding that comment. Just trying to save you folks a bunch of hassle and money and returning this item back to them if you do not want to keep it. Cancel your order before they ship it? Call the company directly and voice your frustration with this entire process. 800-704-8697"

also
"I just called Tomy again to make sure I got the same answer regarding returns. Just go to their website and email them all of your customer information along with your order number and explain you want to have the item canceled. She apparently recognized my voice but I did not acknowledge I was the same person that called before
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"

I gave it a shot here:

Contact Us

us.tomy.com us.tomy.com
 
also from Steve D. (yeah that guy):
"Oy.
I have been commenting (and warning) about this subject for the last 6 months...
As a product engineer,
I mentioned to everyone that it is almost impossible to fill seams and screw plugs in die-cast zamac, as the differential material joints will just crack over time.
There is no really good filler for zamac that will bond permanently, long-term.
So, if you're thinking you'll get the model and you'll just putty it and repaint it...
You can certainly do that, but, shortly thereafter, all of the seams will magically appear again.
Because of the very large size of the parts, the zamac joints will constantly move under loading and will crack any seams that you fill. And the filler material will eventually start to spall.
This is a very tough model to do in large-scale.
Gary Kerr did a fantastic job with the geometry, layout, and deco, but he is not a product design engineer.
That's why at MR, we engineers designed the model with an ABS shell with a metal reinforcing skeleton. Only the struts were zamac.
Anything else simply doesn't work for this design.
Making it in all die-cast metal is just crazy.
It is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to get a completely even finish on the large, smooth areas, because the hot metal will have a notable shrinkage rate when cast in large sections and first demolded.
And the weight is just ridiculously high. That's a whole 'nother story...
Bad.
Design.
We have 21st century production technology and 100+ years of manufacturing history.
No.
Excuse."
 
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Treadwell said:
also from Steve D. (yeah that guy):
"Oy.
I have been commenting (and warning) about this subject for the last 6 months...
As a product engineer,
I mentioned to everyone that it is almost impossible to fill seams and screw plugs in die-cast zamac, as the differential material joints will just crack over time.
There is no really good filler for zamac that will bond permanently, long-term.
So, if you're thinking you'll get the model and you'll just putty it and repaint it...
You can certainly do that, but, shortly thereafter, all of the seams will magically appear again.
Because of the very large size of the parts, the zamac joints will constantly move under loading and will crack any seams that you fill. And the filler material will eventually start to spall.
This is a very tough model to do in large-scale.
Gary Kerr did a fantastic job with the geometry, layout, and deco, but he is not a product design engineer.
That's why at MR, we engineers designed the model with an ABS shell with a metal reinforcing skeleton. Only the struts were zamac.
Anything else simply doesn't work for this design.
Making it in all die-cast metal is just crazy.
It is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to get a completely even finish on the large, smooth areas, because the hot metal will have a notable shrinkage rate when cast in large sections and first demolded.
And the weight is just ridiculously high. That's a whole 'nother story...
Bad.
Design.
We have 21st century production technology and 100+ years of manufacturing history.
No.
Excuse."
Click to expand...
I will totally agree with him about the putty to fill seams. I have already mentioned it a couple times here. I will absolutely not alter this piece in any way. I guess we all should have known better. Its diecast after all. What were we thinking that they could make the seams and plug holes invisible?????.. .

Anyhow the plugs still should have been put on the other side and some other little things. Don't know why they were not consulted on that??? Whatever....it's nice enough for what we got in Diecast. The only other diecast enteprise are smaller scale. This one will be unique. I would not call it a bad design just bad decisions when it came to the plug holes and parts of the stand maybe. Otherwise it is nice enough and should pass the rest of time...
 
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Treadwell said:
also from Steve D. (yeah that guy):
"Oy.
I have been commenting (and warning) about this subject for the last 6 months...
As a product engineer,
I mentioned to everyone that it is almost impossible to fill seams and screw plugs in die-cast zamac, as the differential material joints will just crack over time.
There is no really good filler for zamac that will bond permanently, long-term.
So, if you're thinking you'll get the model and you'll just putty it and repaint it...
You can certainly do that, but, shortly thereafter, all of the seams will magically appear again.
Because of the very large size of the parts, the zamac joints will constantly move under loading and will crack any seams that you fill. And the filler material will eventually start to spall.
This is a very tough model to do in large-scale.
Gary Kerr did a fantastic job with the geometry, layout, and deco, but he is not a product design engineer.
That's why at MR, we engineers designed the model with an ABS shell with a metal reinforcing skeleton. Only the struts were zamac.
Anything else simply doesn't work for this design.
Making it in all die-cast metal is just crazy.
It is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to get a completely even finish on the large, smooth areas, because the hot metal will have a notable shrinkage rate when cast in large sections and first demolded.
And the weight is just ridiculously high. That's a whole 'nother story...
Bad.
Design.
We have 21st century production technology and 100+ years of manufacturing history.
No.
Excuse."
Click to expand...
Would have been nice to have heard this kind of dissent when the campaign was going on.

Even with my bellyaching, and limited display options, I was prepared to give it a chance and figure someday I would get around to addressing the problems (after the more expert and adventurous here nailed the proper processes down).

But if it can't be done and I can get my money back, that will probably be the way I'll go now.

It's comic that after realizing they couldn't get away with filling the seams, or leaving the saucer unsupported, they chose the absolute most ass-backward solution- visible holes on the filming side and a distracting support on the opposite "clean" side.
All around Brilliant. :rolleyes:

Just imagine if they had taken the plug holes into account and designed the construction in such a way that those were recesses (on the non filming side) where horizontal ends to support rods screwed in.
We'd only have one side to display, but it could look more like it was floating clean, without visible support under the hull.
Do the saucer out of ABS and no need for a support on that at all- and you bring the total weight of the ship down to make that bent arm support more feasible.


Back to square one and the PL kits for me.
 
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I'm glad to hear people can cancel the order if they want to! Such a bad situation, because we all were literally and figuratively invested in this project. The Enterprise is clearly very special for all of us. It's unfair for the people who in good faith bought in. I'm really sorry for how this has gone.

We each individually have to decide if you can enjoy this Enterprise for the quirky product it is, or if every time you look at it you will focus on the disappointment. There isn't a wrong answer to whether you can like it or not, it will be different for each of us. Nothing wrong with cancelling the order and giving someone else the chance to get the model who otherwise wouldn't. This may be the best Enterprise some of us will ever be able to afford or build.

Doesn't matter how many times you go over the flawed process, it's not going to change the outcome. TOMY is delivering the product, different than promised, but we weren't robbed, just our hope sort of crushed. Not an excuse, but rarely do I pull off the quality I am hoping for no matter how hard I try, budget, time and skill level always get in the way, so maybe I have a bit of empathy for the TOMY team.

For those who cancel I really hope a better option comes along for you!
 
animator said:
I'm glad to hear people can cancel the order if they want to! Such a bad situation, because we all were literally and figuratively invested in this project. The Enterprise is clearly very special for all of us. It's unfair for the people who in good faith bought in. I'm really sorry for how this has gone.

We each individually have to decide if you can enjoy this Enterprise for the quirky product it is, or if every time you look at it you will focus on the disappointment. There isn't a wrong answer to whether you can like it or not, it will be different for each of us. Nothing wrong with cancelling the order and giving someone else the chance to get the model who otherwise wouldn't. This may be the best Enterprise some of us will ever be able to afford or build.

Doesn't matter how many times you go over the flawed process, it's not going to change the outcome. TOMY is delivering the product, different than promised, but we weren't robbed, just our hope sort of crushed. Not an excuse, but rarely do I pull off the quality I am hoping for no matter how hard I try, budget, time and skill level always get in the way, so maybe I have a bit of empathy for the TOMY team.

For those who cancel I really hope a better option comes along for you!
Click to expand...
True. But people should hang on to these. I have read forums the last couple days of people who did not get it and STILL impressed with what they see from Phoenixs photos. And they want it. Again this is a DIECAST model at 1/350. Maybe our expectations were just too high and we should have never trusted Chris on his word. When you think about it who really bondos diecast ANYTHING???.... LoL.....so i think people should just sit on it for a week or so and not make a hasty decision. They will definitely be able to sell it later for a profit if they don't want it. Because besides the issues people are bringing up here the piece still looks great and will be wanted by the collecting community.
 
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One question of those who have received it: Can the saucer section be kept in place without the support pole? Or does it absolutely need the support pole? Thanks.
 
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To Our Collector Community,​


Through the course of development of the Star Trek NCC-1701 U.S.S. Enterprise, a specific design detail we thought we could achieve could not be realized in final production. Specifically, the screw hole covers and seams are still somewhat visible on the final production units. We have worked on making the covers as flush as possible, and have minimized the seam line as much as we can.

TOMY has a deep passion for creating high-quality diecast that collectors will want to own and enjoy for years to come. With the Star Trek NCC-1701 U.S.S. Enterprise, we believe we have created a very special diecast replica that will be a jewel in your collection.

If the design detail leads you to be dissatisfied with your purchase, please contact TOMY Consumer Services at cs@tomy.com or 1-800-704-8697 before shipping begins on October 6th, 2023.

We are thrilled to share the final product with you. Thank you for your enthusiasm, support, and feedback during the development and production process. We always strive to do our best for our customers and are appreciative of your partnership. We are excited to get shipping and can’t wait to hear from you once your product is received.
Thank you!


Best Regards,
Team TOMY
As we get closer to the ship date of the Star Trek Enterprise, please share any last minute address changes with us prior to October, 6th.
If you have any questions, please feel free to connect with the TOMY Customer Service team at cs@tomy.com or 1-800-704-8697.
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All Rights Reserved.
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At least they finally acknowledge it. "somewhat visible" LOL

Although I had already done so through the website, I went ahead and sent a request via the address provided in the update.

I hear ya, folks, about maybe profiting from resale, but I'd rather not be bothered.
 
Even with a the seam lines and plugs, I still like this one better than the MR one. Although the MR one has a nicer stand and it being on a wall outlet is a huge improvement over batteries. However I never liked how clean it looked. I always felt she needed more weathering.
 
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